CBMS

Network
Updates
Special Issue
December 2004

Community-Based Monitoring System

N AT I O N
A L CONFERENCE
NA
O N CBMS-PHILIPPINES
I

n order to provide a forum for

the sharing of experiences
among CBMS local partners and
various stakeholders, a national
conference on community-based
monitoring system (CBMS) was
organized by the CBMS Network
Coordinating Team of the Angelo
King Institute for Economic and
Business Studies (AKI) on September 23-24, 2004 at the Dusit Hotel
Nikko, Makati City, Philippines.
The two-day conference
featured recent developments on
the use of community-based and

local monitoring systems for development planning, and poverty and

program impact monitoring in the
country. The first day provided a
policy forum for national and local
chief executives while the second
day focused on technical discussions
on the applications of CBMS.
Among the principal guest
speakers were Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD)
Undersecretary for Programs and
Policy Lourdes Balanon, Governor
Joel Reyes of Palawan, Mayor
Winifredo Oco of Labo, Camarines

Norte, and Mayor Wenceslao

Trinidad of Pasay City, Metro Manila.
The conference was attended
by at least 100 delegates from the
local and national government
agencies; research and academic
community and various international organizations.
This special issue of the CBMS
Network Updates features the
highlights of the conference.

INSIDE

Investingin Informationinthe
Philippines

MakingDemocracy Work andPeople

EmpowermentRealThroughtheCBMS 4
TheCBMSUse for LocalGovernance:
From a Provincial Perspective

TheCBMSUsefor Local Governance:

From a MunicipalLevelPerspective

Lessons Learned from CBMS Local

Partners:Palawan

Lessons Learned from CBMS Local

Partners:CamarinesNorte

12

Comments from National Government

Agencies

14

Views from New CBMS Partners

16

ProgramoftheConference

18

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

20

In
v e s tting
ing in
nv
I n ffo
or m at ion i n
the Philippines
by Michelle Hibler*

aiting for something,

reads the sign above the
small waiting shed on the side of the
dusty road that cuts through a rural
barangay in the municipality of
Coron on Busuanga Island in the
Philippine Province of Palawan.
Waiting for nothing, reads another
a kilometer or so down the road.
These two signs may well
describe the feelings of many
Palaweos, indeed of many Filipinos.
Optimism, because of the national
governments commitment since the
late 1980s to reduce poverty.
Pessimism because, as Dr. Celia Reyes,
Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP)Co Director and CBMS Network
Leader based at the Angelo King
Institute for Economic and Business
Studies (AKI) in Manila, says, the
performance of the Philippines with
respect to poverty reduction has been
very modest. While the incidence of
poverty has declined over the past 15
years, the number of poor has actually
increased.
The Philippines lackluster
performance in reducing poverty is
partly due to the boom-bust cycle of
the countrys economy. It is also due
to the countrys poverty reduction

* Chief, Writing and Translation

International Development Research Centre

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

strategies and policies, says Dr. Reyes.

While poverty reduc-tion targets were
set for the first time in the 1987-1992
develop-ment plan and successive
governments
made
poverty
reduction a central part of their
platforms, the practice of
discontinuing programs associated
with previous administrations has
been disadvantageous to the poor.
Even before a program is fully
implemented, it is scrapped and
replaced with a new one, only to
suffer the same fate a few years hence.
THE NE
E D FFO
O R T IME
LY D
ATA
NEE
IMEL
DA
Programs have also suffered from a
lack of timely, accurate information
on the nature and extent of poverty
as well as of the means to monitor
the effectiveness of poverty
reduction programs. We would
know the impact of policies and
programs only after three or four
years, Dr. Ponciano Intal, Executive
Director of the Angelo King
Institute at De La Salle University,
explained at the first National
Conference on Community-Based
Poverty Monitoring System (CBMS),
held in Manila on September 23-24,
2004. In fact, data on poverty were
irregular, infrequent, and unmatched from survey to survey. Thus,
no comprehensive profile could be
drawn at any time. The data were also
too aggregated to be of much use to
local planners.

The CBMS was born out of that

frustration. One of the tools
developed in the early 1990s under
the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC)s Micro
Impact of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP)-Philippines
Project, it aims to provide policymakers and program implementors
with a good information base for
tracking the impacts of macroeconomic reforms and various policy
shocks. Although initially designed
to be implemented in sentinel sites,
today CBMS is being implemented
province-wide in Palawan, in 7
municipalities in Camarines Norte
and, more recently, in the province of
Bulacan and in Mandaue City in Cebu
and Pasay City in Metro Manila. In
April 2003, the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local
Government enjoined all local
government units at the barangay,
municipal, city, and provincial levels
to adopt the systems 13 core
indicators for measuring poverty. From
its first home in the Philippines,
CBMS has also now spread, with IDRC
support, to 12 countries.
The National Conference
brought together 120 local, regional, and national government officials, researchers, and development
workers to share their experiences
in implementing CBMS and discuss its impact. The many local
government unit representatives at
the conference is significant, said
conference moderator, Attorney
Ricardo Puno Jr, member of the
Board of Trustees of the Angelo King
Institute, because if anyone should
be concerned about local populations, its you. And if the country is
to be developed, it will be because
of local people and communities.
A TOOL FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Indeed, if the original audience for
CBMS data was intended to be
national policymakers, it has proven

to be an extremely useful tool for

local governance, particularly as
decentralization has shifted
responsibilities to local government
units. CBMS gives you information
about where you are now, where you
should be, and how youre going to
get there, said the Honorable Joel
Reyes, Governor of Palawan and a
staunch CBMS supporter. It
provides reliable, relevant and
comprehensive data on the welfare
conditions and development status
across the province.
The use of such data for
evidence-based decision making
emerged clearly in the conference
presentations. For instance, in
Palawans capital, Puerto Princesa,
three areas were found to lack access
to health centers. These will be
constructed in the coming year.
Proof of inadequate access to safe
water supplies and electricity has led
to programs to extend these services
in many barangays, such as OringOring in Southern Palawan, where
CBMS data identified a number of
problems, among them poverty,
poor sanitation, lack of access to
electricity, low school participation,
and low participation in community
organizations. As a result, said
Barangay Captain Ibrahim Palampisi, a feeder road is being built to
enable farmers to get their produce
to markets, and 50 homes were
provided connections to electricity/
power. Increased water supplies,
public toilets, new classrooms, and
a day care center have also been
provided. In another barangay, the
CBMS survey carried out two years
ago has resulted in emphasis being
shifted from infrastructure projects
to social services such as a child
feeding program.
The profiles of municipalities
that emerge from the analysis of CBMS
data also enable programs to be targeted
to individual householdswhich ones
will receive agricultural inputs such as
seeds and fertilizers, which ones will

get sanitary toilets, which will receive

subsidized health care or educational
aid. As Serafin Blanco, Administrator
of Mandaue City, Cebu Province, put
it, its a means for development to
assume a face and an address.
Using a Geographic Information
System, maps can be produced that
clearly show households and facilities.
For instance, in the municipality of
Labo the first municipality in the
province of Camarines Norte to
implement CBMS the maps
showing the location of students and
the citys 10 schools provided one clue
to low school attendance. And, said
Mayor Winifredo Balce Oco, when the
results were presented to the
community for validation, other
reasons emerged. A number of these
children are expected to be economically productive to help their
families, he said. Some households
do not have enough money to pay
the tuition and more so, provide for
the day-to-day expenses of the
children. To address this problem,
financial assistance and school
supplies are now being provided to
indigent house-holds, he said.
FOR AND BY THE COMMUNITY
Community participation is key to the
success of CBMS. Informed from the
outset about the surveys objectives and
uses, the community also provides
enumeratorsbarangay workers,
health workers, students, etc.and
data processors. Information is
collected from every household and
the data are tallied and consolidated
manually at the village level. Municipal
aggregates are submitted to the
province for consolidation.
The processed data are
returned to the community for
validation and discussion. This
empowers communities by providing them with information and a
process through which they can
actively participate in planning, said
Dr. Reyes. Barangay residents thus

develop a keen sense of their

priorities and are better able to
articulate their needs to city
planning officers. Armed with hard
information on their condition, they
are able to play a direct role in
allocating budgetary resources. And
they can demand accountability and
transparency on the part of government officials. Sometimes, community members discover that the
solution lies in their own hands. In
Barangay Oring-Oring, for instance,
a local organization and a businessman each donated public toilets to
help solve the sanitation problem in
two most seriously deprived communities. The households that share
the toilets maintain them.
If CBMS is spreading rapidly
in the Philippines, the challenges
of ensuring continuity and of
institutionalization remain. But
the commitment of conference
participants to pursuing and promoting the system is encouraging. In
my term, I will make it a law in the
province of Palawan, said Governor
Reyes. Mayor Peewee Trinidad of
Pasay City, Mayor Gerardo Calderon
of Angono in Rizal province, and
many others also pledged to
implement and support CBMS in
their municipalities and barangays.
The next steps are to scale up
and ensure that national statistical
agencies coordinate the generation
of data. This would enable CBMS to
go nationwide, said Dr. Reyes. Also
needed is technical assistance to
local government units and a central
repository for the data. And as
Carmelita Ericta, administrator of the
National Statistics Office, pointed,
out, all government units need is to
recognize that information gathering
is not a cost; rather, it is an

investment.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

emocracy is often an overused

word, bandied about in
speeches, rallies, and political
messages that the word has acquired
an almost permanent patina of
vagueness. What does democracy mean
to the common man, for instance, when
he cannot eat three square meals a day
nor support his children to school?
What does democracy mean to him
when he is jobless and hungry? The
common lament that people have about
government is that they often do not
know what is going on and worse, they
do not know where their hard-earned
money or taxes are going. How does one
then make democracy palpable and
real? How can it become a living, and
not merely rhetorical, concept?
CBMS AS A PEOPLE PROGRAM
This is where the concept of people
involvement comes in. If people, for
example, are involved, especially at the
community level, in a system where they
themselves collect, process and use data,
and which monitors the conditions of
the vulnerable groups in a given area,
then governance can be more empowering and democratic. This is what the
community-based monitoring system or
CBMS tries to address. The CBMS was
developed to aid in poverty reduction
by providing an up-to-date picture of the
poverty situation of vulnerable groups
through the frequent collection of welldesigned but relatively simple sets of
indicators. It also involves the participation of communities in the collection
and use of data/indicators, enabling it
(CBMS) to be a low-cost, easy-to-maintain system. As such, it provides an
answer and practical alternative to
having large and costly surveys from
where standard poverty monitoring
systems are usually drawn. Moreover, because the CBMS data are collected on a
regular basis with definite reference
periods, the CBMS is able to give a
comprehensive profile of various social
demographic groups of interest at
specific points in time.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

Mak
ing Demo
cr
ac
Making
Democr
crac
acyy Work
ment
an
d PPeeople Emp
ower
and
Empo
erment
Real T hr
oug
h tthe
he CB
MS*
hroug
ough
CBM
By Hon. Corazon Soliman
Secr
ar
ocial We l far
d De
aree an
and
Devve lopment
cree t ar
aryy, Dep
Depar
artt ment of SSo
For provincial, city and municipal
planners, the CBMS equips them with
crucial information that guide their
decisions and with data that are used to
ensure the delivery of services where they
are needed most. Local capacities are also
enhanced along with gender equity. Crisis
impacts are likewise detected earlier. If one
takes this step further, the CBMS can also
be used to ensure that projects being implemented are constructed and finished
within standards. In this regard, the days
of ghost projects, substandard materials
and shoddy workmanship may be
numbered because more people are
involved in the process of monitoring and
checking.
CBMS BEST PRACTICES/EXPERIENCES
In the next two days of this conference,
the best practices and experiences of
CBMS will be shared by practitioners.
The transformative powers of instituting
processes that are truly community-based
will be shown to us. We will see how
CBMS can be used as an empowering
tool that equips people with the weapons to fight poverty more scientifically
and efficiently. Being scientific, however,
does not mean that it is less human. The
human side is never taken for granted
because it is inherently participatory in
nature and intended to serve the poorest
of the poor.
THE CHALLENGES AHEAD
In sharing experiences and technologies, we shall be faced by many

challenges, one of which is how to spread

and replicate best practices. How do we
convince hesitant local government units
who want to stay within the comfort zone
of status quo and traditional politics? How
do we convince stakeholders to take up
the cause of development? This is where
the crucial elements of leadership come
in. There are hundreds and thousands
of these people who are willing to lay their
lives on the line for the greater good.
Unfortunately, what often gets recognized
are those from the flip side of the coin.
We choose to harp on the negative instead
of highlighting the positive. There are
change agents out there who are
orchestrating synergy among various
sectors, bridging divides and reaching out
to the most disadvantaged. The network
of the CBMS has the potential to be such
a change agent by providing planners and
implementers with the means to properly
plan, prioritize and choose higher impact
projects. The network has the potential
to harness resources previously
underutilized and spur growth from the
grassroots. May the next two days of
exchanging experiences and ideas
therefore lead to realizing our common
objective of improving the lives of
impoverished Filipinos. And may we see
the fruits of the two days not ending in
simply speaking but in getting translated

into effective action.

* An edited and recast version of the keynote

address of Secretary Soliman. The speech
was delivered by DSWD Undersecretary for
Programs and Policy, Hon. Lourdes Balanon.

T he CB
MS Use ffo
or LLo
ocal G
over
nan
CBM
Go
ernan
nancce:
cial PPersp
ersp
From a PPrrov in
incial
erspeect ive*

awalan is the first province in

the Philippines to implement

By H
o n. J o e l T. R
Ho
Ree y e s **

alawan is the first province in

the Philippines to implement the community-based monitoring system (CBSM) province wide.
As such, it is only fitting and an honor
to share the experience of Palawan
in its use and implementation of the
CBMS; the benefits derived from it;
the help that the CBMS has provided
the provincial government in its
appraisal of the provinces human
development index; the main
strategies adopted and the lessons gained after five years of
CBMS implementation in the Province.
THE BEGINNING
Partly based on a challenge I posed to our Provincial
Planning and Development Office (PPDO), in March
1999, the late Governor Salvador Socrates entered into
an agreement with the Policy and Development
Foundation Inc. through the MIMAP-Philippines (now
the CBMS Network) for the implementation of the
CBMS in Palawan. In September 1999, the CBMSPalawan Technical Working Group was created and
composed of staff from the MIMAP-Philippines led
by its Project Director, Dr. Celia M. Reyes; the PPDO
led by Mr. Nelson Devenadera, and Mr. Dirk Heinrichs,
who was then connected with the provincial government through the integrated expert program of the
Center of Inter-national Migration and Development
(CIM).
Two months later, the CBMS was piloted in 2
barangays in the Municipality of Taytay in the North in
order to test and validate our survey methodology and
instruments. The province wide implementation of the
project was formally launched the following year through
Executive Order No. 15. Full implementation of the project

An edited and recast version of the Palawan Governors presentation

made during the conference.
** Governor, Province of Palawan, Philippines and Vice-President for
Luzon of the League of Provinces of the Philippines.

in January 2000 was marked with a CBMS

forum attended by local chief executives
and Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators (MPDOs).
IMPLEMENTING THE CBMS:
A REVIEW OF THE PROCESS
The implementation of CBMS
involves organizations and participants in the local development
arena such as barangay/community
level, municipal, and provincial level.
In the first quarter of 2000, trainings and briefings
on the concept and use of the CBMS were conducted
by the MIMAP-Philippines Team. The surveys then
followed between March and September of the same
year with the results then consolidated and validated at
the PPDO and in the communities. Later, they were
presented during the provincial development council
in September 2000.
COUNTING THE BENEFITS
What are the benefits drawn from the CBMS? And how
have they benefited Palawan?
First, the CBMS provides reliable, relevant and
comprehensive data on welfare conditions and
development status across the province from the
barangays to the municipalities.
Through the CBMS, the provincial government
was able to measure the human development index
(HDI) as it relates to the Palawan experience.
Second, it gives direction and guidance in
crafting our development agenda. Guided by this agenda, we saw the need to restructure and streamline the
organizational set-up of the provincial government.
Third, the CBMS has enhanced recognition and
credibility of local governance and political leadership.
Before the DILG recognized the CBMS as a local initiative
for development and poverty monitoring at the national
level, the CBMS was already being used as a poverty
monitoring tool in the province.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

Fourth, it guides LGU and project implementors

in setting project targets. Because the CBMS provides
inputs in identifying the right project location, the right
project beneficiaries and the type of intervention scheme
needed most in a specific area are likewise identified.
Fifth, the CBMS monitors development trends.
It shows the degree to which people get healthier,
where access to water services and sanitation facilities
is still needed and where changes/improvements have
taken place thereupon suggesting the success of
certain programs or interventions.
Sixth, it is a ready-to-use source or reference for
the preparation of comprehensive land use plans
(CLUP) and socio-economic profiles. Because of this,
LGUs are able to save on other expenses such as data
collection, survey, and pre-developmental activities.
Seventh, it helps government to re-adjust goals
and development thrusts. After the CBMS assessment
and evaluation in 2003, Palawans local leadership saw
the need to refocus priorities in terms of putting more
interventions in sectors sorely needing them.
Lastly, it helps in mobilizing investments. Good
and relevant data help streamline local investments
toward the common goals of the local government units.
W HA
T ARE T HE MA
T R AT E GIES US
ED
HAT
MAJJ O R SST
USE
O
N
?
IN CB
M
S
IMPL
E
ME
N
T
A
T
I
CBM IMPLEMEN
DATA DISSEMINATION
The most important strategy used is active data
dissemination which refers to intensive informationsharing and dialogue with potential users. The data are
openly made accessible across all LGU levels, civil
society/private sector and NGOs.
Active data dissemination is also achieved
through the issuance of the Palawan Human Development
Report, the first such report at the provincial level in
the entire Philippines. This report documents the
CBMS data for the year 2000 and provides an analysis
and interpretation of the information.
NETWORKING
Intensive networking refers to the involvement of
the LGUs and partner agencies in the process of data
generation, interpretation and utilization. In this
regard, an expansion of the CBMS database is done to
make the system relevant for other data users.
INTEGRATION INTO THE REGULAR PLANNING PROCESS
To enhance the utilization of the CBMS data, CBMS
survey results are frequently presented and discussed
with stakeholders like the local development councils,
sectoral agencies and local legislative bodies.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

Mere presentation, however, is not enough. In

Palawan, we are trying to maximize the benefits of CBMS
by making it part of the entire planning process. For
instance, to complement the present development
approach where municipalities with common development priorities are clustered by zones, the CBMS data
were arranged by zone and by cluster, showing the
flexibility and utility of the database. The integration
of the CBMS in the planning, monitoring and assessment of the performance of each cluster leads to a more
efficient governance.
LESSONS LEARNED
What lessons can be drawn from the five-year
experience of Palawan in the CBMS implementation?
How can other LGUs maximize the use and benefits of
the CBMS? Box 1 outlines the major lessons and
recommendations in this regard.

BO
X 1: LES
SO
NS LLE
EAR
NE
D FFR
ROM THE PAL
AWAN C
ASE
BOX
LESSO
SON
ARNE
NED
PALA
CA
Below are lessons gained from the CBMS-Palawan experience,
which may in turn help other local government units in their
CBMS exercises:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

Build a broad partnership across LGUs, civil society and

private sector. CBMS cannot be implemented by just one
agency.
Delineate clearly the responsibilities across LGU
levels: barangays, municipalities and province, and
the partner agencies from civil society for greater
multi-sectoral participation.
Have a strong coordinating and integrating agency
(like the provincial government) to avoid disintegration
of efforts and data (kanya-kanya system).
Localize the approach to data gathering, collection
and processing. This must be done in the barangays
and at the municipal levels to avoid clogging up of
data at the provincial planning body.
Share resources across all levels.
Be creative in tapping support and assistance. A firm
commitment will generate assistance and cooperation
at all levels.
Be patient: CBMS data will not be available overnight;
perseverance will lead to endurance.

FUTURE PLANS
Finally, the full realization of the benefits of the
CBMS depends largely on its sustainability. In Palawan,
sustaining the implementation of the CBMS is one of
our priorities. In this regard, we have earmarked the
updating of CBMS indicators bi-annually. For next year,
we have plans of conducting our third round of survey
which will cover all households of the province.
Hopefully, all these will lead to further improve
ments in Palawans overall development.

T he CB
MS Use ffo
or LLo
ocal G
over
nan
CBM
Go
ernan
nancce:
al LLeevel PPersp
ersp
F ro m a M
uni
cip
Muni
unicip
cipal
erspeect ive *

awalan is the first province in

the Philippines to implement

By Hon. Winifredo B. Oco **

he implementation of the
community-based monitoring system (CBMS) in the municipality of Labo in Camarines
Norte has helped bring about
several changes in the way we
plan and prioritize programs in
the municipality. Today, after two
years of having the CBMS, we are
working toward having the system institutionalized in our local set-up. Certainly, this speaks
of the sense of satisfaction and
gratification that we have at
Labo for the experience we have
had in the implementation of
the CBMS.It is therefore my
honor to share with you this
experience along with the lessons that we have learned
in the process.
Before the CBMS information system was implemented, very few information were available to comprise
the statistical profile of the municipality. When the
CBMS was established in our municipality, we were able
to gather the updated information from the 52
barangays. At the same time, the results of the CBMS
survey enabled us to identify and determine basic
conditions in our municipality.
These additional information gathered helped us
see the extent of certain conditions in our municipality.
Nonetheless, they only gave us a general picture. What
allowed us to take a deeper look was the use of a more
innovative tool, shared with us by the CBMS team as an
integral part of the CBMS process. This is the use of
geographic information system (GIS) maps that assisted
not only policy and decision-makers like me but also
program partners and stakeholders in planning the
appropriate interventions needed to respond to the
requirements of our constituents. With our resources
quite limited, the GIS maps helped us maximize what we
have and utilize them to the fullest.
With the use of maps, for example, we are able to
see at one glance the households who had access to

sanitary toilet facilities before

distribution of the toilet bowls and the
households who have access to such
facilities after the intervention.
The same case of determining
how an intervention program had
assisted in addressing Labos concerns, as gleaned in the CBMS survey
results, can likewise be seen in the
areas of access to safe water supply
and improvement in household
incomes.
U T IL
IZ
AT I ON O
MS D
ATA
ILIZ
IZA
OFF CB
CBM
DA
Given the examples in the
previous section, how can we sum
up the specific uses of the CBMS data in both the
municipal and barangay levels?
AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL
Foremost is the utilization of the CBMS data in the
preparation of the Municipal Socio-Economic Profile
and municipal annual investment and development
plans.
One illustration is the use by the Office of the
Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office
(MSWDO) of the CBMS data to identify the poorest
households in the barangays on the basis of their
income levels and on whether they are within the
poverty or food threshold limits. The MSWDO also used
the CBMS data as basis for selecting Philhealth
beneficiaries to whom national government-supported
health cards are to be given.

An edited and recast version of the presentation made by the

Mayor of Labo during the conference.
** Mayor, Municipality of Labo, Camarines Norte and President, League
of Municipal Mayors of Camarines Norte.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

The CBMS data are also useful in the

determination of priority needs in the municipality.
The adoption of Municipal Ordinance No. 188-2004
dated March 2, 2004, which granted educational aid in
the form of financial assistance and school supplies to
indigent households in response to the problem
identified through the CBMS survey results, is a case
in point.
Corollarily, the CBMS results were utilized in
identifying the barangays with critical water supply
systems. With the use of the maps prepared in the CBMS
process, the office of the Municipal Planning and
Development Coordinator was able to easily identify the
barangays that were in dire need of the water facilities.
With such information, the municipality of Labo was
considered for inclusion in the national government
program Integrated Rural Accessibility ProgramInfrastructure for Rural Productivity Enhancement
Sector (IRAP-InfRES)for water supply.
Moreover, the CBMS survey results provided
additional data in the preparation of the municipal land
use plan as well as inputs to the GIS-based
socioeconomic database of the municipality.
AT THE BARANGAY LEVEL
Similar to the municipal level usage, the CBMS
data have been useful in the preparation of the barangay
annual investment and development plans as well as
the Barangay Socioeconomic Profile. They were also
used in preparing the barangay poverty maps which show
the most depressed areas in the various barangays in
terms of the different dimensions of poverty.
More important, the CBMS information proved
to be helpful in determining priority needs and
priority programs and projects in the various barangays.
In this regard, all 52 barangays of the municipality of
Labo drew up their list of priority programs like the
allocation, for instance, of Barangay Tulay na Lupa of
specific amounts for its supplemental feeding
program and educational assistance program.
Relatedly, Barangay Tulay na Lupas use of the CBMS
survey results in analyzing the educational and health
status of its children won for it the coveted ChildFriendliest Barangay award in a province-wide
search/contest.
W HA
T S T HE C
OS T ?
HAT
CO
Any undertaking has a corresponding cost in terms of
monetary expenses. In the case of the CBMS
implementation, it may perhaps be said that the benefits
and rewards far outweigh the expenses involved.
Consider the following amount incurred during the first

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

round of the CBMS implementation: P 431, 523.00 or P

27.18 per household.
For the subsequent implementation, meanwhile,
an estimated cost of P 224,503.34 or P14.14 per
household is anticipated. This sum, however, excludes
training costs if the same enumerators are assumed to
be tapped for the next round of survey.
All in all, the costs of implementing the CBMS are
minimal when compared to large surveys which have
interval periods in-between.
As such, it may be considered as a low-cost
technology or procedure.
AC
O M MIT
ME
N T FFO
OR IN
U T I O NAL
IZ
AT ION
CO
MITME
MEN
INSS T IT
ITU
ALIZ
IZA
Because of its proven benefits and advantages, the usage
of CBMS data will be the basis of future development
initiatives in Labo, especially in its poverty reductionrelated programs, projects and activities.
In view of this, we commit to support new CBMS
undertakings such as the expected new round of survey
activities that would evaluate the effects of the
development programs in the municipality. We also
commit to promote the awareness and use of the CBMS
as a tool for poverty monitoring and local governance,
and vow to help institutionalize the CBMS as an integral
component of development planning and programming
in the municipality of Labo.
With the institutionalization of the CBMS, the
municipality of Labo therefore looks forward to having a
Well-Balanced Outlook for Opportunities and Change

Onwards!

L essons LLeear
ne
d FFrrom
arne
ned
ar
CB
MS LLo
ocal PPar
CBM
artt ners
Palawan
MR. ROGELIO ABIOG

Manager
Southern Palawan Planning Information Center

The CBMS results

proved to be vital in the
following organizations:
A: Municipalities and
Barangays - The CBMS result
was essential in the identification of priority needs
and programs to be implemented in every barangay within the municipalities
specifically in the sector of socio-economic
development, education and literacy, livelihood, health
and sanitation, shelter and other basic indicators.
B. South Palawan Planning Area - The South Palawan
Planning Area is comprised of five municipalities, which
are working together for the effective planning and
implementation of programs/projects related to
environmental protection and economic development
of constituents.
In relation to this, the CBMS data were used in the
identification of priority needs and programs to be
implemented in the entire SPPA specifically in the
sectors of socio economic, education and literacy, health
and sanitation, shelter and, most of all, the livelihood
practices that largely affect our surrounding
environment.

Tangible inputs to the city governments

planning operations.
Appropriate programs that meet specific needs
of the various communities in the area.

M S. LU
C Y LY N PAN
AGS
A G AN
LUC
PANA
GSA
Assistant Municipal Planning and Development
Coordinator
San Vicente, Northern Palawan

The community-based
monitoring system (CBMS)
which has been implemented
twice in the Municipality of San
Vicente was a useful data
gathering system. For the
barangays and municipality as
a whole, the data results, if accurate and updated,
become the bases for situational analysis where problems
and needs of households in the particular area are
identified.
The CBMS data results also help the Municipal
Planning and Development Office (MPDO) and the
LGU in the preparation of socio economic profile
including maps of each barangay and consolidated into
a municipal profile which in turn serves as a guide for
different government level councils, planners and
policy makers in the formulation of multisectoral
development plans.

MS. JOVENEE SAGUN

Assistant City Planning and Development Coordinator
Puerto Princesa City

With the implementation of

CBMS, the Puerto Princesa City
government was given a functional
tool to cope with the challenges
and responsibilities that local
government units face. These
benefits include:

PUN
O N G BAR
AN
G AY IB
R AHIM PAL
AMPI
PUNO
BARAN
ANG
IBR
PALAMPI
AMPISS I
Barangay Oring-oring,
her
n PPal
al
a w an
Br
o o k e s PPo
o int
out
Bro
int,, SSout
outher
hern
ala

Based on the priority needs

identified from the CBMS survey,
the barangay was able to identify
and implement programs that
address some of these needs.

Spatial information on the welfare condition of

the communities.
CBMS Network Updates
Special Issue, December 2004

Dr. Ponciano Intal, Jr., Executive Director of

Angelo King Institute for Economic and
Business Studies, delivering the welcome
address to the conference delegates.

Atty. Ricardo Puno, Jr. (center) AKI Board of

Trustees Member, facilitating the insightful
policy makers forum.

Mayor Wenceslao Peewee Trinidad of Pasay City

and Mayor Lucena Diaz-Dimaala of Narra Palawan
were among the local chief executives who graced the
policymakers forum.

10

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

NEDA Region IVB Director, Mr. Oskar Balbastro,

commenting on the presentation of Gov. Reyes.

Heads of statistical agencies, Administrator

Carmelita Ericta of the National Statistics Office
(NSO) and Executive Director, Romulo Virola of the
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)
participating in the forum.

Representatives from the Leagues of Cities and

Municipalities (2nd and third from right) provided
comments on the CBMS presentations of Labo,
Camarines Norte and Puerto Princesa City.

Dr. Evan Due (at the rostrum), Senior Programme

Officer of the International Development Research
Centre commending the partnership between the
CBMS Team of AKI and the LGUs in implementing
CBMS in the Philippines.

Ms. Josephine Escao (at the rostrum) of the Provincial

Government of Palawan shared how CBMS served as inputs
for the assessment of the CIDSS Program in Palawan.

Mr. Paul Villarete (at the rostrum), President of the

League of Local Development Planners, noted that if
CBMS is a good tool then it must be replicated in all the
LGUs in the Philippines.

Some of the participants viewing the CBMS exhibit

which showcased photos of LGU capacity-building
activities and sample CBMS-generated maps
showing CBMS survey results.

Focal CBMS partners from LGU-Camarines Norte .

Organizers of the workshop and selected
participants pose for a souvenir group picture.
CBMS Network Updates
Special Issue, December 2004

11

Lessons LLeear
ne
d FFrrom
arne
ned
ar
CB
MS LLo
ocal PPar
CBM
arttners
Camarines Norte

P UN
ONG B
AR
AN
G AY CO
N S TAN
CIA O
UNO
BAR
ARAN
ANG
CON
ANCIA
O.. LAB
LABII O S
Barangay Kalamunding
Labo, Camarines Norte

The implementation
of CBMS in our barangay was
a big help to local leaders
and residents as well.
CBMS was also a big
help in providing data to the
students (thesis and educational research) in that they were able to easily submit
their projects in school. Ditto with other office workers
who also made use of some data from the CBMS for some
of their work assignments.
CBMS also helped our barangay win several awards,
among which are:
1.
2.
3.

Child-Friendly Barangay Awardee (2nd Place,

Municipal Winner)
Katarungang Pambarangay (Municipal Winner)
Katarungang Pambarangay (CY 2004 regional
winner and recently competing for National
Evaluation).

MR
VARI
AND
MR.. EEV
ARISS T O PPAND
ANDII
Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
Labo, Camarines Norte

Since I started working

as a planner, there were various
tools and systems, formats and
presentation that were being
used in the preparation and
presentation of the Municipal
Profile or the Socio-Economic
Profiles (SEP). The preparation and presentation of the
SEP have changed significantly; previous profiles were
more on tables and graph presentation, but with CBMS,
added features were provided such as the geographic
information system (GIS) wherein data and information
were graphically represented in maps.

12

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

With CBMS, the preparation of Municipal Plans is

more focused in addressing the issues and concerns
relative to the results of the data and information
generated by the activity.
Objective-setting in program planning will be
easier through CBMS not only in the planning period
but also in the implementation, monitoring and
evaluation phases of the development plan.
It is also easier for every office to make and defend its
own project proposal because the data and information
gathered are based on the actual and up-to-date survey
results.

M S . MIRIAN M. HERNANDEZ,
Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
ar
ine
o r te
Tali
iness N
No
aliss a y, Cam
Camar
arine

Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) has

so far become very much useful to the Local Government
Unit, specifically for the Office of the Municipal
Planning and Development Coordinator. Information
on population, education, health and sanitation were
used in submitting the municipal entry to the Provincial
Search for Child-Friendly Barangays.
Now that the LGU has applied and qualified for
the Infrastructure for Rural Productivity Enhancement
Sector (InfRES) Project, a grant project of the
government with funds coming from the Asian
Development Bank and the Department of Agriculture
as the lead implementing agency focusing on poverty
reduction and improvement of agriculture, the CBMS
data become handy. Almost all of the data are used in
the submission of the information needed to complete
the Concept Paper for the 2nd Eligibility Requirements.
The LGU, on the other hand, is currently updating
its Socio-Economic and Physical Profile (SEPP) to be
submitted to NEDA and the Regional Development
Council and there are information that could be found
in the CBMS data that are useful for the SEPP and
ultimately to the Land Use Plan.

There are a lot to gain than to lose in implementing

the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). With
the very rigid and time-bound submission of requirements
and documents for the different foreign and locally-funded
projects that the LGU would like to avail of, the information
being requested by other government agencies notwithstanding, the LGU is thankful for the presence of CBMS
data which are a source of countless reliable information.
With all records of the LGU gone in the fire that razed the
Municipal Building last April 2003, the CBMS database is
like a blessing coming from heaven.

The LGU-Labo, Camarines Norte used five (5)

major strategies to reach and regularly update the
stakeholders in the CBMS institutionalization, to wit;
1.
2.

3.

4.

MS. ROSALIE OCAN-LOPEZ

5.

Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator

Basud, Camarines Norte

The municipal and

barangay governments in
Basud found the project very
useful and informative
particularly to all policymaking and legislative bodies.
It creates and main-tains
databanks at all levels which
could be used as reference in planning and budgeting.
Results were used in day-to-day transactions such as in
the issuance of certification of residency, poor income
level and other purposes. Results could also be used by
our political leaders for their own consumption and
references.
CBMS findings on school participation rate have been
used in justifying a project proposal for a grant from the
Japanese Embassy. LGU-Basud was able to get a grant from
the Japanese Embassy amounting to P 4.8 million for the
construction of a secondary school facility- a 6-classroom
facility complete with comfort rooms, bookshelves and 50
chairs for each classroom in Taisan, Basud.

MR
O N LA
G AT UZ
MR.. JO
JOSS E RAM
RAMO
LAG
Planning Officer and Municipal Planning and Poverty
Reduction Action Officer
Labo, Camarines Norte

Presentation of CBMS and its results in the

Municipal Development Council (MDC) meetings.
Consultation/lobbying with the local chief
executive and legislative body during its
committee meetings.
Appearance and interview at the local community
radio station (DWLB-FM 89.7 Mega Hertz) located
at the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bldg.
Regular updates of CBMS activities in
BALITANGLAW, a local publication of the LGU.
Info-dissemination during the regular
information service, including a caravan to 52
barangays, a year-round activity of the LGU-Labo.

MR. BIMBO DORIA

Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte

The opportunity of
using CBMS in Sta. Elena
is rooted on several
reasons. First is to establish a database (in our
case a social sector database) which we found to
be suited to our needs at
this point and comprehensive enough to be expandable to other sectors.
Second is that the CBMS has a Geographic
Information System (GIS) component which is more
readily appreciated by our decision makers, who
appreciate the digitized map features better.
Third is the financial viability of CBMS. Given that
commercial GIS softwares offered today in the market
are very expensive, which the municipality could not
afford, it is indeed a welcome reprieve to receive a free

software such as the CBMS-NRDB*.

The Municipal Planning & Development Office

and the community leaders
and volunteers act as key
players in the implementation of the project.
*

A database developed for CBMS application.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

13

Comment
at ional
mmentss ffrrom N
Na
ci
G over
nment A gen
ernment
enci
ciees
Mr
Mr.. Oskar Balbastro
Director
National Economic and Development Authority
Region IV-B

ithin the framework provided by the Local Government Code(LGC), the fight
against poverty increasingly takes
the form of local government
intervention, which in turn, calls for
additional local budget support to
local government units (LGUs). At
the same time, the delegation of
government functions to the LGUs,
as Dr. Celia Reyes emphasized
earlier in her presentation, likewise
increases the demand for regular
up-to-date and more disaggregated
information essential for development planning, policymaking,
projects development and impact
monitoring at all levels. The
importance of having accurate information becomes even more pronounced during times of fiscal difficulties in view of the need to determine correctly where the meager
resources ought to be invested in.
In this regard, it is
heartwarming to note that certain
LGUs like the province of Palawan
have been able to come up with
updated demographic information
about the province and its welfare
and development situation, as
contained in its first Palawan Human Development Report (HDR).
The information in the Report,
as generated through the CBMS,
lends itself toward having more
effective governance at the local
level by allowing an easier
identification of appropriate interventions to address the gaps pin-

14

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

pointed through the CBMS in terms

of services, facilities and manpower
requirements.
Of course, the success of the
CBMS implementation in Palawan is
largely due to the proactive role of
the province in disseminating the
data to various stakeholders in the
development process.
Atty
ernando Cruz
Fernando
tty.. Gil F
Executive Director
League of Cities of the Philippines

n behalf of the League, I would

like to thank you for involving
us in this laudable endeavor. A
community-based monitoring system
finds essence in the capability to
monitor local development programs, particularly those having to
do with poverty reduction initiatives.
Indeed, any advocate of good local
governance will find rhyme and
reason to support, pursue and
replicate a system that fully and
genuinely involves the community
in its implementation, and one that
integrates all inputs and data
extracts from all administrative levels
of government provincial, city/
municipal and barangay/community levels. To learn now that this
monitoring system is householdsbased is to appreciate the value it
adds to the process of policy and
decision-making as well as in
development planning.
But, of course, I know you will
agree when I say that the heart and
soul of the entire process has been
the continuing collection and
generation of the database through
the years by the CBMS in the pilot

sites. This is where we all appreciate

the importance of the regular
updating of the data-and at minimal
costs.
You will notice that we have
concentrated our comments on those
integral qualities of the CBMS because
they are close to our heart as a league.
We hope that as a probable next
step, we can complement each others
effort toward improving the quality of
life of our people.
Ma
yor Gerardo V
May
V.. Calderon
Secretary-General
League of Municipalities of the Philippines

espite the many challenges of

loal governance amidst national fiscal crisis, the presentations
tell us some very good stories about
exemplary practices in Philippine
local governance in the area of
community-based monitoring system. The case studies properly document the process by which CBMS
was used for existing planning and
monitoring exercises in various
areas.
I am grateful that the Angelo
King Institute for Economic and
Business Studies, an academic-based
policy think-tank, is assisting some
local governments in the Philippines to promote the significance
and usefulness of CBMS in the
country.
I am very happy to see the
municipalities of Labo and San
Vicente as well as the city of Puerto
Princesa being recipients of this
worthwhile project. As the saying goes,
many are called but only few are
chosen. I share the pride of these

three LGUs for having been chosen

in this project. My only concern is why
only in Palawan and Camarines Norte.
It is my ardent desire to see
other municipalities in the Philippines taking part in this project
to improve the quality of municipal
governance in the country as a result
of having better statistics or benchmark information for evidencebased policymaking through the
CBMS
There is a need to take into
account, however, that CBMS is not a
panacea to the many challenges of
local governance. The valuable
lessons from Palawan and Camarines
Norte for instance, points to the fact
that any project, including the CBMS,
cannot be implemented effectively
and efficiently by just one agency.
There is a need to build a broad
partnership with other LGUs, local
government associations, civil society,
private sector and non-governmental
organizations. Thus, the League of
Municipalities of the Philippines
(LMP) will be more than willing to
establish a close partnership with the
CBMS Network of the Angelo King
Institute for Economic and Business
Studies to promote and apply the
value of CBMS in various Philippine
municipalities.
I hope to see the CBMS Network
strengthening its link with Philippine
municipalities through the LMP. I am
very confident that the strengthening
of this network will advance our
common aspirations for better local
governance in the Philippines.
Mr
aul Villarete
Mr.. P
Paul
President, League of Local Development
Planners of the Philippines

irst of all, I am happy to have

been invited to this conference
where the discussion is focused on
something that is community-based.
For anything that relates to a
community is close to my heart
especially because I believe that if it
is community-based, then it is of the

community, by the community and

for the community.
I think that it is important
especially for us in the League whose
composition totals 1,725 members
who are in the forefront and focal point
of implementation of almost all development programs for local govern-ment
units to really know more about the
CBMS, evaluate it and calculate its costs
and contribution to the entire country.
And if it is a good program as
many of my colleagues in this League
of Local Development Planners attest
to then I enjoin all the members of
the League to be one with me in
asking the Department of Interior and
Local Governments (DILG) to issue a
directive that will call for the immediate implementation of the CBMS
nationwide.
With that, I look forward to
seeing the CBMS take off on a national
scale and to working with the CBMS
team more closely in the near future.

Mr
Mr.. Eduardo Tiongson
Deputy for External Affairs
League of Barangays of the Philippines

he presentations articulated by
the speakers gave us a glimpse of
how the various sites have been able to
apply the community-based monitoring system (CBMS) in their regular
governance and monitoring functions.
This is, of course, of great interest and
importance to us because we, at the
barangay levels are the ones implementing programs like the different
anti-poverty programs. Unfortunately,
because of the political timetable of our
terms of office, many of us are not able
to have adequate time to really internalize the meanings of the information
in these reports, much more, put them
into proper application to help in our
planning, prioritization and implementation functions.
That is why we are hoping that
the training of the CBMS, not just for
the local executives but more important for the community residents and

volunteer themselves will be able to

provide both with ample understanding
of the mechanics of the system and the
knowledge of its proper application and
uses so that the system may be
institutionalized, albeit the change in
leadership of the local government units.
As such, we look forward to having
a strong collaboration with the CBMS
team so that we can really put the CBMS
into full use and application, thereby
helping the barangays.

Ms. Maritess Balhon-Kelly

Local Government Officer IV
Department of Interior and Local Government

n the part of the Department,

we realize, of course, the realities of election and the turnover of officials
and people that takes place in the course
of elections. As such, the Department tries
to focus on functionalities rather than
personalities as the core of its program in
empowering local communities and their
citizens.
It is in this regard that the
Department supports the adoption of
the community-based monitoring system
or CBMS in helping the local governments planning and monitoring systems
and in coming up with a set of core
indicators for measuring the welfare and
development status of local communities. For the objectives and rationale of
the system are fundamentally in line with
our monitoring of the attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) set for different aspects of
development.
The guidebook that was earlier
developed in another program for LGUs
to determine indicators in monitoring
the MDGs can thus be combined or
integrated with the concept and
mechanics of the CBMS to allow for a
better streamlining of the monitoring
system. On the whole, the efforts should
concentrate on capacity-building for
communities that are shown to be in
need so that the local people can be truly
empowered in improving their lives.
CBMS Network Updates
Special Issue, December 2004

15

V iews ffrrom N
MS PPar
ar
Neew CB
CBM
artt ners

Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad

Ms. Arlene Pascual

Pasay City

Provincial Planning &

Development Coordinator
Province of Bulacan

n one of our regular executive planning workshops

where we do visioning and come up with various
ideas to study or adopt programs and projects, one of
our department heads, Rolando Londonio, who has
been instrumental in reaping awards for our city such
as the Gawad Galing Pook Awards for our city-wide
Bayanihan Banking Program, presented us with the
idea of the CBMS. Right there and then, we knew that
the CBMS will be good for Pasay. Not only will we be
able to determine the actual number of our poor
people; we will also be able to diagnose the extent of
poverty and determine its causes and formulate
appropriate and relevant policies to address it.
I believe CBMS is very timely and we have agreed
with the CBMS coordinating body to implement the
program in Pasay beginning 2005 onwards.
As of today, we have created a technical working
group, in coordination with the CBMS team, that is
finalizing the survey instruments. The training on data
collection and data processing will commence in October
and will be pilot-tested in selected strategic barangays. We
hope to partner with church-based NGOs (as what we did
for our Bayanihan Banking Program) to preserve the
integrity and transparency of the data collected. The full
implementation will be in 2005.
We acknowledge the urgent need to keep our
barangays informed; thus, to adopt this program, we shall
be providing each barangay with an information board.
The information board will display each barangays vicinity
map and the vision of the city will be highlighted. Likewise,
through the information board, barangay officials will be
reminded of their responsibilities and families will be
encouraged to have their own and participate in the
developmental programs. The information board will also
showcase inspiring stories of community leaders and
outstanding citizens of the barangays.
We had a successful bahayanihan program in Pasay.
The adoption of the CBMS is aimed at the spirit of
bayanihan in our Pasay barangays. Thank you for sharing
that spirit with us.

16

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

here are three key reasons why the provincial

government of Bulacan has decided to adopt the
community-based monitoring system (CBMS) provincewide. One is to ensure the availability of up-to-date,
relevant and accurate data from all its constituent units
as basis in making development plans, measuring
development outcomes and monitoring welfare status.
Two is to maintain the overall high quality of life in
Bulacan as measured in terms of the human
development index. One of CBMS advantages is its
capacity to pinpoint where the gaps in terms of access to
services and facilities are. And three is to help improve
the tax base in Bulacan. While the provincial government
of Bulacan had been using a satellite-based geographic
information system (GIS) in enhancing its property taxinformation system, what it lacks is the so-called ground
level information or house-tagging set of information.
We believe that this can be provided through the
application of the CBMS, thereupon becoming very
instrumental in improving our tax base.
Because we believe that the adoption and use of
the CBMS will truly be beneficial, we have convened the
municipal mayors to brief them on the system and to get
their commitments for an agreed-upon 50-50 percent
sharing of the costs of implementation of the CBMS. For
we believe that the principle of sharing in terms of costs
and rewards should be the spirit by which our programs
ought to stand on.

Mayor Thadeo Ouano*

Mr. Ronet Santos

Mandaue City

Regional Coordinator, Voluntary Service Overseas

he lack of a databank
containing primary data at
the LGU level is a common
obstacle among local government units in formulating
development plans. This has
hampered the formulation of
strategies for the effective and efficient delivery of basic
services and usually results in hitting the wrong
clientele and having unresponsive priorities.
The lack of benchmark data to measure performance
levels is also a stumbling block to the advocacy of
transparency and accountability. While the Local
Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS)
of the Department of Interior and Local Government is a
good tool in performance measurement, the quality of its
outcomes depends on the quality and reliability of the
inputted data. This is where the CBMS can resolve and
close this gap. It will complement the LGPMS initiative.
The act of governing becomes meaningful only if
there is a point of departure from where development
outcomes are measured at the end of the line. Success in
governance do not take place by accident. There are
products of well-planned actions based on given
development indicators and success indicators.
We definitely need reliable data to have this and thus,
our entry into the community-based monitoring network
speaks of our desire to be able to know where we are in
terms of performance in the delivery of basic services and
to determine who the poor are among our constituents
and where they are located. In the process, we hope to be
able to rationalize our strategy in the delivery of basic
services, giving more priority to where basic services are
more needed.
The CBMS is part and parcel of our desire to let
development assume a face and an address and to deliver
services where they are needed. More specifically, too, the
CBMS complements many of our ongoing projects and
will allow us to see where government intervention is and
has been most responsive. In this regard, we are ready to
start the implementation of the CBMS in Mandaue City
next month.

llow me to briefly present

the work that our group,
the Voluntary Service Overseas
(VSO) had provided in Bohol
and now in Agusan del Sur
where we have the natural
resource database (NRDB)
system combined with the
community-based monitoring system (CBMS) in doing
monitoring work.
The CBMS, of course, is basically about the
gathering of information on a regular basis to track
human development based on indicators classified
under 3 major categories: survival, security and enabling.
Said information, presented in text and tables, are useful
in measuring the human development index and
thereby in monitoring the status of human welfare in a
particular place.
Said information, however, are made even more
telling when presented in map format. The NRDB,
which basically uses the geographic information system
(GIS), plays a very useful role in that it allows the data to
be shown in maps. With the available data, the
information may capture situations not only at the level
of provinces but also down to the level of barangays and
even households. At the same time, the program
provides a mapping of the distribution of natural
resources within a locality so that it combines the human
dimension with the physical attributes of the
environment.
As such, the combination of the CBMS and NRDB
becomes a powerful tool in capturing welfare conditions
of the people and the communities. For it not only helps
answer the who, what and where but also the why. Answers
may also be captured and easily seen in the maps by
which the information are presented and thereby show
a more dynamic picture. And they thus help in
enhancing local governance by addressing concerns
and designing appropriate assistance programs.
We therefore hope that this can help as many local
government units (LGUs) as possible. That is why we
are helping organize workshops that explain the nature
and use of the CBMS and the NRDB. In the process, we
also hope that the interaction with LGUs may help
further refine the integration of natural resource database systems with human development monitoring.

The speech was delivered by City Administrator Serafin Blanco.

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

17

Program
September 23, 2004

Open Forum
Lunch

Registration
Opening Ceremony
Master of Ceremonies:
Mr. Raymund Habaradas
Assistant Professor, College of Business and
Management
De La Salle University
National Anthem/Invocation
Opening Remarks
Dr. Ponciano S. Intal, Jr.
Executive Director
Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business
Studies
De La Salle University
Key Note Speaker
Honorable Secretary Corazon Soliman
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development

Experience of Municipality of Labo, Camarines Norte

By: Honorable Mayor Winifredo Balce-Oco
Municipal Mayor of Labo, Camarines Norte and
President, League of Mayors of Camarines Norte
CBMS:The Puerto Princesa Experience
By: Mayor Edward Hagedorn
City Mayor of Puerto Princesa
Represented by: Ms. Jovenee Sagun
Assistant City Planning and Development Coordinator
Responses:
Atty. Gil Fernando C. Cruz
Executive Director, League of Cities
Mayor Gerardo V. Calderon
Secretary General League of Municipalities of the
Philippines
Open Forum

Represented by: Usec. Lourdes G. Balanon

Undersecretary for Programs and Policy Group
Department of Social Welfare and Development

Coffee Break
Responses from New Local CBMS Partners

Open Forum
Guest Moderator: Atty. Ricardo Puno, Jr.
Board Member
Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business
Studies
Coffee Break
Session 1: CBMS Local and International Network
Initiatives: An Overview
Presentor: Dr. Celia Reyes
PEP Co- Director and CBMS Network Leader
Session 2. CBMS and Local Governance
Case of Palawan:
By: Honorable Governor Joel Reyes
Provincial Governor of Palawan and Vice-President
for Luzon of the League of Provinces of the
Philippines
Responses
Mr. Oscar Balbastro
Director for Region IV-B
National Economic and Development Authority

18

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

Ms. Arlene Pascual

Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator
Province of Bulacan
Honorable Mayor Thadeo Ouano
City Mayor of Mandaue, Cebu and Vice President for
the Visayas of the League of Cities of the
Philippines
Represented By: Mr. Serafin Blanco
City Administrator, Mandaue City
Honorable Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad
City Mayor of Pasay and Spokesperson, Metro Manila
Mayors League
Responses from International Organizations on Local
Monitoring System- Related Initiatives
Mr. Ronet Santos
Regional Coordinator, Voluntary Service Overseas

Dr. Evan Due

Senior Regional Program Specialist
International Development Research Centre
Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia

Punong Barangay Ibrahim Palampisi

Barangay Oring Oring, Brookespoint,
Southern Palawan
Responses

Open Forum
Closing Remarks
Dr. Celia M. Reyes
PEP Co-Director and CBMS Network Leader
End of Session

September 24, 2004

Session 3. CBMS Data Collection and Data Processing
Techniques
CBMS-GIS and Global Positioning System
Presenter: Mr. Bimbo Doria
Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte
Open Forum
Moderator: Dr. Caesar B. Cororaton
Senior Research Fellow
Philippine Institute for Development Studies

Session 4. Use of CBMS for Preparation of Development

Plans and Socioeconomic Profiles
The South Palawan Planning Area Profile
Using CBMS As Database
Presentor: Mr. Rogelio Abiog
Manager, Southern Palawan Planning Information
Center
CBMS: The San Vicente Experience
Presenter: Ms. Lucylyn Panagsagan
Assistant Municipal Planning and Development
Coordinator
Municipality of San Vicente, Northern Palawan
Coffee Break
Application of CBMS on Preparation on SEPs
and Project Proposals
Presentor: Mr. Evaristo Pandi
Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
Labo, Camarines Norte

Mr. Eduardo Tiongson

Deputy for External Affairs
League of Barangays of the Philippines
Ms. Maritess Balhon-Kelly
Local Government Officer IV
Bureau of Local Government Development
Department of Interior and Local Government
Mr. Paul Villarete
National President, League of Local Development
Planners of the Philippines and City Planning and
Development Coordinator-Cebu City
Open Forum
Lunch
Session 5. Program Impact Assessment and CBMS
Evaluating the CIDSS Program/Other Programs in
Palawan
Presentor: Ms. Josephine Escao
Chief, Research and Evaluation Division
Provincial Government of Palawan
Open Forum
Session 6. Best Practices and Lessons learned in Human
and Financial Resource Mobilization for CBMS
Presentors:
Mr. Jose Ramon Lagatuz
LGU-Labo, Camarines Norte
Ms. Rosalie Ocan-Lopez
LGU-Basud, Camarines Norte
Open Forum
Moderator: Dr. Jose Ramon Albert
Research Chief
Statistical Research and Training Center
Closing Remarks
End of Session

Use of CBMS for Program Intervention at the

Barangay Level
Punong Barangay Kagawad Constancia Labios
Barangay Kalamunding, Labo, Camarines Norte
CBMS Network Updates
Special Issue, December 2004

19

CBMS NETWORK UPDATES

CBMS Network Coordinating Team
Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies
Rm. I-1016, 10th Flr. Angelo King International Center
Estrada cor. Arellano Streets, Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines

BUSINESS MAIL
Bulk Pre-sorted Third Class Mail
Postage Paid at Makati Central Post Office
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Valid Until December 31, 2004
Subject for Postal Inspection

Editorial Staff

This publication was prepared by the

CBMS Network Coordinating Team of the
Angelo King Institute for Economic and
Business Studies with the aid of a grant
from the International Development
Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.
Full copies of the conference program,
papers and presentations are available
online in the CBMS section of the PEP
website at www. pep-net.org.

For inquiries, please write or call:

CBMS Network Coordinating Team
Angelo King Institute for Economic
and Business Studies
Rm. I-1016, 10th Floor
Angelo King International Center
Estrada corner Arellano Streets,
Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines
Tel No: (632) 524-5333
Telefax No: (632) 526-2067
E-mail: mimap@dls-csb.edu.ph

20

CBMS Network Updates

Special Issue, December 2004

Editorial Staff
Celia M. Reyes
Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer P.T. Liguton
Managing Editor
Jasminda P. Asirot
Joel E. Bancolita
Kenneth C. Ilarde
Anne Bernadette E. Mandap
and Lani V. Garnace
Researchers/Writers